Always
by toucantrebleclef
Summary: A bunch of scenes connected. Individually, they could be one-shots but they will form a sort of story. Not really a plot. Life for Percy and Annabeth after Heroes of Olympus. Not including Trials of Apollo. Percabeth, fluff? Told from Annabeth's POV


Cover art by Viria on tumblr, original promp idea by halleydoedog also on tumblr

* * *

Annabeth shot left and right, trying to hold off the attack. She was backed into a corner, ducking and dodging shots at her. This starting to become difficult. Quickly, she hid behind a wall, and fired near-blindly three times, somehow twisting the gun behind her, praying it would hit its target. She poked her head around the wall to see she hit one on its shoulder, and another on the back and again point-blank right on the chest. For one person, Annabeth was doing incredibly, but there were more of them than there were of her and she was exhausted. She saw a gun come around the wall to aim at her, and before she could sidestep -

_Beeeeewoop._ Annabeth looked down at the display on her laser gun and saw her points drop down to 60 from a chest shot. She came out from behind the wall, gritting her teeth, to see Nico and Hazel high five. She wanted more than anything to shoot them, but the gun was disabled for seven seconds after the player was shot. "Don't know why you think this game is so hard," said Nico as he passed her by. Hazel only shrugged apologetically and followed Nico, no doubt in pursuit of more victims. They were gone before her gun recharged.

Annabeth sighed and put her gun in its holster. She was now at only 60 points. If she dropped any lower, she would be behind Frank - last place. He was a nice guy, but even he could agree that was embarrassing.

The worst part is that _she _had been the one who suggested laser tag in the first place. Annabeth thought it would be fun to go out with all her friends one last time before she and Percy went to college in New Rome. She hadn't meant to do so poorly. It really wasn't a big deal, but she had _always _been competitive, and she hated to see that you-tried look on Jason's face he would always give to the loser. She didn't want to be last. That was all she asked. Annabeth had never been good at guns, (especially not of the laser variety) swords and daggers were her strength, but she thought she could do better than the bottom of the barrel. She couldn't just let this day turn into a remember-that-time-we-schooled-Annabeth.

So she steeled herself, and began to creep around, looking for someone she could snipe. Three or four good shots could probably put her in third. She could see the lights of her friends jostling through the arena. All she needed was an open sensor, a clean shot into a (preferably Nico's) chestplate...There! A flash of plastic LED-lit armor. Annabeth squatted, took aim, and…

"Annabeth?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin. "Percy!" She whirled around, pointing her gun at him. He cringed back and raised his hands in surrender, dropping his gun into the holster. "Truce! Truce!" He lowered his hands slightly, still wincing. "Don't shoot, Wise Girl," he said. She thought about shooting, but his pained expression made her put her gun down. Annabeth softened.

"Sorry," she said. "I thought at first you were Nico. It's thanks to him I have 60 points," she frowned.

Percy forced his face into a not-bad expression, but after seven years of knowing him she could tell when he was making an effort not to laugh. "60 points isn't bad," he said amiably, managing to keep a straight face. Annabeth cast him a _cut the crap _look. "How many do you have?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Percy suddenly looked sheepish. He didn't meet her eyes as he said, "Like..well, one was by accident when me and Jason had a truce and I thought he was Leo...but I have 195." He poked the ground with his shoe and Annabeth groaned. During the training round, he hit himself twice (Percy wasn't very good with guns either) and he was _still _ahead of her?

She could see and hear no one but Percy for what felt like miles, so Annabeth sat down on the floor and sighed, relishing the feeling of sitting and getting away from the weight of the bulky chestplate. There were so many cheap electronics in it, it was almost as heavy as real armor. Annabeth looked up at Percy, who was giving her a soft half smile. She just needed a few minutes to get back on her game. She breathed deeply, trying to get her bearings.

"I can't believe we're moving away after this," she said. "New Rome, without our friends? I can hardly imagine what that would be like." It terrified her, just the smallest bit. Percy sat down next to her, their legs touching. "I know," he said. He put her hand on top of hers and squeezed. "You're sure you want to, right?" He sounded genuinely concerned. Annabeth laughed quietly and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Of course I do," she said. "Living with no monsters, in a safe haven for demigods? That's more than I could dream of a few years ago." She looked up at his face to see him pouting. "Don't forget you get to live with me, too," he said. Annabeth shifted to face him. He had a knowing smirk on his face now. She put her hands up and sighed dramatically, feigning annoyance. Percy pushed her shoulder and she laughed. "Seaweed Brain, you know you're the best part," said Annabeth. He wove a hand into her blonde hair, sending tingles down her spine, and pressed his forehead to hers. Warmth spread from his forehead to the tips of her toes."I can't wait to start a life with you," he whispered, looking into her eyes. She smiled, feeling like a balloon was filling inside her stomach. "I love you, Percy," she said, running a hand down his back, and he closed the distance between them.

Annabeth started softly, kisses full of raw love for her boyfriend. Boyfriend...she didn't say it, but hoped they would get married someday. It was only a few moments before she opened her mouth more, letting Percy deepen the kiss. Even after all this time, fireworks still went off in her belly when he did that. She felt his tongue on hers and pulled his head closer to her. Heat spiked up her body and Percy's kissing got more urgent. His hand slid up the back of her shirt and she felt safe with his hands gripping her sides. She kissed him deeper and had to stifle a moan.

There was no need to worry about New Rome. With Percy by her side, she felt like she could do anything, like she was complete, an empty space in her body filled.

Annabeth pulled away for a moment. They had done this enough times she could now breathe while kissing him, but she just wanted look at the slightly dazed expression on his face. "We should probably get back to the game," he said. His eyes were unfocused. Annabeth felt a light bulb go off in her brain. It wasn't hard to arrange her face into a lustful expression with all the tension in her gut. "Yeah," she breathed. "Just -"

She pressed her face to his again, nibbling at his lips. She climbed onto his lap and could feel him getting hard under her. Annabeth pulled back to smirk at him and shifted around on top of his crotch. Percy couldn't stifle a moan. Holy Athena she wanted it bad, but this was laser tag and she was surprised their friends hadn't found them yet. Annabeth leaned forward to kiss his neck and Percy let out a growl which made her stomach turn. She watched his face, waiting for it…

His head rolled back and his mouth opened. His eyes were cloudy with lust. This was her chance!

Quick as a flash, Annabeth stood up and took two steps back and away from him. Percy's head snapped up, trying to find why she had left him. Before he could breathe, she unholstered her gun, took aim, and shot it at Percy's chest twice. Annabeth felt guilty when she saw his betrayed expression, all puppy dog eyes and open mouth, but when she saw his change in expression into what she knew was _Percy Battle Mode_, she knew she might get what she deserved. Annabeth didn't wait for his gun to recharge, she just started to run.

"_**Annabeth**_!" she heard Percy bellow. She grinned as the gun slapped against her thigh. She could make it up to him later that night, couldn't she? "_You cheated!"_ While she ran, she looked down at the small display of points on her gun. _180 points._ Who says she couldn't win this thing?


End file.
